


N is for Nightmare

by coolbyrne



Series: The Alphabet Series [14]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:05:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27400150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolbyrne/pseuds/coolbyrne
Summary: Two hours in a car lets Gibbs make a long-term decision. Slibbs
Relationships: Jethro Gibbs/Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane
Series: The Alphabet Series [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1909126
Comments: 21
Kudos: 97





	N is for Nightmare

_"... 4 car pile-up has forced people to take alternate routes, with commutes delayed by as much as 2 hours. I know traffic's a nightmare, folks, but sit back and let Bulldog take care of the entertainment."_

"You want to talk about a nightmare, Bulldog? Someone's about to be stuck in a car with a psychologist for 2 hours." When Gibbs didn't confirm or deny her statement, Jack laughed. "Don't worry," she said, holding up her phone. "I have a book to read."

He threw the car into park, figuring they were going to be stuck for a while. Glancing at the device in her hand, he asked, "You can read a book on that?"

She nodded with enthusiasm. "It might turn a 800 page book into 2000, but it makes me feel super smart to read a page in 10 seconds."

Her self-praise made him laugh. "I was askin' if you could see the tiny print on that phone."

Her mouth dropped and she slapped his arm. "Is that a dig at my age, Mr. Magoo, the one who keeps taking my glasses."

"I don't take them. I pick them up where you left them."

"Oh, yes, I vividly recall leaving them on your side of the bed, under your copy of 'Got Wood Monthly' or whatever it's called."

"'Woodworking Monthly'," he dryly corrected. "At least you can find them. I'm still lookin' for my black hoodie."

She turned her attention back to the phone. "I have no recollection of what happened to it."

"Figured as much." He watched her test the distance she needed to hold the phone to read the small font. "Sloane, you hold that any farther out and it'll be in the back seat of the car in front of us."

His quip was rewarded with another slap, then she gestured to the radio. "Find the game or something. Unless you want to talk about your feelings?" She smirked at the speed in which his hand reached for the dials.

…..

He was glad they were in a company car and not his truck, allowing him and his back the luxury of reclining seats. It also allowed him the luxury of looking at her. He pretended to be lulled into a light doze by the baseball game, but had used the ruse to soak up the sight of her while she squinted over her phone in a way that was so damn cute he might've said as much if he didn't want to get another slap. 

They were 4 months into whatever it was that was going on between them. Sixteen weeks since he had kissed her against his boat and she had moaned, "Hallelujah." A hundred and twenty-three days since the first time he had made her moan something more. 

He'd gotten used to sleeping alone but the first night she wasn't in his bed undid decades of conditioning. Her scent in his sheets was no substitute for her body pressed against him, her breath warming his neck or her limbs tangled up in his. Her voice on the phone, telling him good night, had nothing on the same words that were whispered in his ear while he was measuring a 2x4, words that had him up the stairs 3 beats later. He even overlooked her teasing laughter at his haste when that laugh brought a devilish glint to her eye and a warm invitation to her arms. He never took for granted the time she wanted to spend with him, the time she allowed him spend with her. Knowing he had more time behind him than he did ahead, he was tired of wasting it.

He rested his hand on her leg and wasn't disappointed at how quickly she laid hers over top, her finger tips idly stroking his long bones. She gave him a throwaway glance, but seeing something in eyes, frowned.

"Something on your mind?"

"You should move in."

The Nationals chose that moment to hit a home run, and the play-by-play man reacted accordingly in what Gibbs thought was either the biggest example of pathetic fallacy in history, or the biggest cock block.

Her frown got deeper. "What?" Thankfully, she didn't make him repeat it. Turning in her seat, she said, "You want me to move in?"

"Well I kinda want _you_ to wanna move in." This wasn't going the way he planned, and he looked out his window to disguise his misstep. He should've figured. He had a good 10 years on her; just because he was looking at minutes didn't mean she was doing the same. Hell, she might not even be looking at years and he just rushed her into- 

She tugged at his chin with a hard jerk. "Hey." She waited until he turned his eyes to hers, and when they did, her touch went soft, stroking up his chin to his ear. "I love you." 

Leave it to her to trump his emotional all-in with 3 words he hadn't said, let alone heard in years. Her mouth sealed her words under his smile, her hand moving from his ear to the back of his neck, her impatience shown in the way she tried to clutch the short hair. He didn't have such issues, her long hair allowing his fingers to fan their way through until he got a good handful. She approved of his manoeuver with a moan against his tongue, sending vibrations to his chest and lower. He shifted in his seat to relieve the sudden tightness in his pants and as she adjusted her own position to get closer, her elbow hit the horn, causing her to jump. He groaned at where her hand landed, and the sound, more pleasure than pain, caught her devilish attention.

"Sloane," he warned, though it did little to stop her hand's newfound distraction. A horn blared again, but this time it was from the car behind them. Traffic had finally started moving.

"Damn," she said. "I was just about to find out how far back these company seats recline." She grinned as she sat back and he could only shake his head. 

She left her hand on his thigh but gave him time to get a handle on the newly moving traffic, allowing him to shift focus on the road before she gently asked, "You sure?"

He didn't need her to explain the short question. Of course she would give him an out, a way to step back from his unexpected offer. Despite the strength of the question, he could hear the preparation in her voice, like tiny builders ready to fix the hole in her emotional wall if he changed his mind. It pained him to know how much practice she had in that construction, how often in her past it had to be done for her to be so good at it, how he might have been equally culpable over the last 3 years.

He took his eyes off the road long enough to look at her, and whatever his eyes didn't say, he made sure his words did. 

"I'm sure." The simple answer carried more weight than 2 words ever could, and it seemed to please her, because she sat back in her seat and gave his leg a squeeze. He waited just long enough before adding, "How else am I gonna get my damn clothes back?"

The gentle squeeze turned into a grip that made him wince, but he didn't even care, because her smile soothed the pain.

…..

-end


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